The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-08

vessels machinery and improve
ments at navy-yards. 1911. 1875 80
Miscellaneous expenditures, includ
ing public buildings. lighthouses
and cole citing the revenue------. 81, OO2, 647.4O
Expenditures accountof the Dis
trict of Columbia. 4,0S5, 251.39
Interest the public debt. 47,741,577.25
The sinking fund 41.9O 10
Total ordinary expenditures So :, e35. 42s IL
Leaving a surplus of-..-- So, SCI, $40. 81
Which, with amount drawn from
the cash balance in the treasury OF "a 4oo 10 40
Making. --S $50, O23, $1,000
Which applied to the redemption Of various
outstanding obligations. AS compared with
1856 the receipts for 1887 show increase OF
s34 $685. $50 60. and the expenditures for the same
period show an increase of s25. 449, 04147 For
the fiscal year 1888 the receipts estimated at
1888, OOO, 900, of which 1928 0OO 900 is expected
from customs $120 0oO, 900 from internal reve-
nue. and the remainder from other sources.
The expenditures for 1883 are estimated at $780,.
ST. 1856. leaving an estimated surplus of &c. 1872
ga For 1889 the estimated receipts are $685.,
600, 900, with expenditures of ever 1926. 000O 0O
leaving q surplus of something over $50 600 0OO
THE SURPLUS AND THE TARIFF.
On the quest ion of surplus revenue the Secre-
tary says:
circumstances have heightened the imme-
diate urgency of taxation reform as affecting
the surplus revenues of the government. The
urgency is great that the question of surplus
revenues demands the earnest attention of both
the legislative and executive branches of the
government By surplus revenue is meant the
money which annually remains in the Treasury
of the United States after the officers of this
department have collected the taxes laid the
people by the laws of Congress and have paid
all the expenses and obligations of the govern
nent except principal of the Understanding
debt.
each year for twenty-five years there has
haap laas
In 1874 the greatest. $145. 81, SIG. II, in 1882
The total of this surplus for the TWENTY-FIVE
years ended June 80. 1887 81. 491, 845, 953 II
Il $1O3 4S1 O97 SO during the last fiscal year.
which was only about million of dollars less
than the greatest annual surplus THAT of 1854
since the reduction of taxation in 1888 although
the ordinary expenditures exclusive of interest
on the public debt. were $50, 642, 736. 81 greater
in 1887 than in 1884 During the present fiscal
year ending june 30, 1888. the surplus taxation
will amount to $113, .0co.
.'What shall be done with this surplus revenuel
It comes into the Treasury in the form of gold
coin silver con gold certificates silver certificates
and United States notes. The government pro-
vides at large annual cost, minis and bureau
of engraving and printing TO coin and print these
various forms of money and representatives of
money, that there may be sufficient circulating
medium in the hands of people to enable
them to conveniently exchange the products OF
their labor among themselves and with the peo-
plies of the world. If We take into the Treasury
large amounts of these circulating media in
cess of what we pay out, there will soon not be
purposes of business serious arrangement and
disaster must follow. aud a portion of labor
must cease until the very evils which this
wrong condition creates shall have worked
Temporary cure by diminishing the CO asump-
ton Of food clothing, fuel and luxuries, by the
taxation of which the revenues of the govern
Inent are raised, that taxes do not exceed the
expenditures of government. This evil and this
cure every one wishes to avoid. Theirs are vari-
expedients by which this may be done.
t'First-The purchase OF the interest bearing
debt of the government
.tSecond-Larger expenditures by government
for other purposes than ths purchase Of bonds,
SO that they shall each year equal the taxation
of that year
"Third-Reduction of the revenue from taxa
ton to the amount actually required to meet
necessary expenses.
s'An of these expedients have in common the
merit of preventing the arrangement to
business which must follow boarding or locking
MP in the Treasury the circulating media of the
people.
''The first. the purchase of bonds, has the fur
Their merit that tbs interest upon all
bonds purchased by the government; but.
the other hand, the use in business to which
money is devoted TO the purchase of bonds is
worth something to the people from whom it IS
taken by taxation, and if the value of this of
money in business is greater than the amount
of money which is saved by the cancellation of
the govern ent bonds, then the people have
lost by the transaction, the measure OF loss be-
ing the difference between the worth of the
use of the money do them and the interest saved
the bonds cancelled; for example, no calcu-
lation being made of compound interest, the pur
chase at par of 81, 600 per cent bond twenty
years before it is due saves to the people $500 in
interest upon that bond but if the money had
not been taken from the people, and if in their
business it would have been worth cent
annually for twenty years then the total value
uf the of the 81 600 to them would nave
been 81 900. and there would have been loss of
$500 in consequence of this surplus of taxation;
but 4 per cent bonds cannot be bought at par.
and hence the calculation must always be made
upon the basis of q far less saving in interest
than per cent. par annum by the purchase of
the bond, while the average annual value Of
money to the whole people may safs'y be put at
not less than per cent.
1.-THE government has purchased some bonds
during the present fiscal year for the sinking
fund, and has been obliged to pay such price
for them that the annual saving In interest
upon the purchases Is only about y per centum
The price of the same class OF bonds has ad-
vanced since those purchases. so that the an
nual saving in interest would be less if pur-
chases made now. Should the government
attempt to spend all its present surplus revenues
in the purchase of bonds the price would go much
higher Indeed, il is doubtful il enough bonds
could be bought to expend all the surplus reve-
nues at price which would result in any con-
siderable saving in interest to the government.
So that it does not seem wise to continue taxa
ton beyond the ordinary needs OF governments,
and then resort to the buying of bonds for the
mere purpose of redstriouting the circulating
media among the people. am not, however, at
present disposed to recommend the repeal of the
sinking fund requirements of the present laws.
Ir 10 PROBABLE that the command or these laws
only be obeyed at heavy cost, but neverthe-
less it Is better and more wholesome that the
country should each year continue devote
such sum as they require to the extinguishment
Of so much OF the interest bearing debt
be purchased Herewith At least the expert
nent should be faithfully tried until il is demon
strated TO be failure.
THE government never has paid premium
in gold for its bonds for any purpose but the
sinkine fund and it has done that but three
times-in 1880. when it paid a premium in gold
of 81, 795, 1904 in 1881, premium of 81 061.
248. rs and again in the present fiscal year.
when it has paid premium of 50. 852, OILS. SO.
with these exceptions, the government has
!. always been in position where it could pur-